Caramel Crunch Banana Bread

Fluffy and moist banana bread with a caramel swirl and a crunchy cinnamon crumble topping.

This caramel crunch banana bread has been a long time coming. I knew I wanted to get a banana bread up on my site, but wanted to add my own little spin. And if you have been following along with my recipes, you know I love a caramel swirl. So the recipe testing began, and I was thinking, “Okay, might as well practice filming it” because I knew I wanted to step up my reels game on Instagram. Next thing you know, I’ve got a mini viral banana bread reel and a failed banana bread recipe. Oooops.

My DMs were blowing up with requests for the caramel crunch banana bread recipe so I was determined to get the recipe PERFECT. I tested it several more time, and finally I figured out how to get it to check off all the boxes –

1. Super soft and moist. (And stays that way for days after baking)
2. Deep caramel and banana flavor, with no huge chunks of mushy banana.
3. A super crunchy topping that doesn’t sink into the bread while baking.

How to Make Caramel Crunch Banana Bread

Preheat the oven to 325 and line an 8.5 X 4.5 loaf pan with parchment paper and a spray of nonstick. My favorite non stick spray for baking is Baker’s Joy, but any spray with flour in it will work! I use this loaf pan from USA Pan. They’re the BEST. (Not an add just truly my favorite pans.)

In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until well combined. Continue whisking for 1-2 minutes, or until the mixture begins to lighten in color. Puree or mash the bananas very well, until no large chunks remain. Measure the banana so that you have 1 1/2 C, then whisk it into the butter/sugar mixture. Once the banana is combined, whisk in the eggs and vanilla. Then, whisk in the yogurt.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Then fold the dry ingredients into the wet, until just combined. Don’t over mix. Pour in half of the banana bread batter into the prepared loaf pan. Drizzle with half of the caramel, then swirl the caramel in with a spatula or butter knife. Repeat. For this recipe, I used the Vanilla Bean Caramel from Table Mountain Farms, but any caramel sauce will work! Once all of the batter and caramel is in the pan, make the cinnamon crunch topping.

For the cinnamon crunch topping, combine the sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Dice the cold butter into small pieces. (or use a cheese grater with large holes to grate the butter) Use your fingers to squish the butter into the flour/sugar mixture. Keep mixing until all of the butter is in small, flaky, pea-sized pieces. Pour the topping over the banana bread. Lightly push is down with the palms of your hands.

Bake the banana bread at 325 for 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean with a few moist crumbs attached. You don’t want it to come out completely clean, because the bread will continue to bake a little more while cooling in the hot pan. Let cool, then remove from pan using the parchment paper. Slice, top with an extra caramel drizzle, and enjoy!

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If you loved this Caramel Crunch Banana Bread, be sure to check out my Small Batch Banana Muffins!